LOS ANGELES — The winners of the record $1.6 billion US Powerball
jackpot had yet to emerge early on Thursday, with lottery
officials saying the massive prize would be split among ticket
holders in three states — Tennessee, California, and Florida.

Each of the three winning tickets is worth $528.8 million, the
California Lottery said. The winning numbers were 08 27 34 04 19
and Powerball 10.

The identities of the winners was not yet known, and lottery
officials have not said whether anyone has come forward to claim
a share of the money.

One ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Chino
Hills, east of Los Angeles, California Lottery officials said.
Two other winning tickets were sold at locations in Tennessee and
Florida, but the cities have not been revealed.

The drawing late Wednesday for the $1.586 billion jackpot was the
largest-ever lottery prize in North America. The odds of picking
the correct combination were 1 in 292 million.

Crowds descended on the California store after word emerged it
had sold a winning ticket, with excited customers snapping
pictures and congratulating the sales associate. The store will
receive a $1 million bonus, lottery officials said.

The prospect of becoming instantly rich sparked a ticket-buying
frenzy that was expected to have reached a rate of $1.3 million
per minute during Wednesday's evening rush hour, Gary Grief,
executive director of the Texas lottery, told a news conference.

To receive the full jackpot amount, winners have to accept a
multiyear annuity, whereas the lump-sum cash payout for the
jackpot was about $983.5 million, lottery officials said.

For every $1 worth of Powerball sales, half goes to prizes, 40%
to causes such as education, and 10% to retailers who sell the
tickets and other administrative costs, Grief said.

If no winning tickets had been sold on Wednesday, the jackpot
would have rolled over again, pushing the annuitized prize to an
estimated $2 billion, with a cash value of $1.24 billion.

Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., and two US
territories.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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